George herbert condict and victor angerer



UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

GEORGE HERBERT CONDIOT AND VICTOR ANGERER, OF PHILADELPHIA,PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNORS TO THE ELEC RIC CAR COMPANY OF AMER- ICA, OFSAME PLACE.

ELECTRIC CAR.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 400,830, dated April 2,1889. Application filed June 20, 1888, Serial No. 277,670. (No model.)

To cZZ whom it may concern: Another feature of the improvement is the Beitknown that we, GEORGE HERBERT CON- employment of a spring which actsdirectly D101 and VICTOR ANGEEER, both of the city or indirectly uponthe regulator to make itand countyof Philadelphia, and State ofPennreduce or cut out the current passing to the D sylvania, haveinvented an Improvement in motor or motors, and which, when operatingElectric Railways, of which the following isa in conjunction with asuitable locking despecification. vice for the operating lover orhandle-such Our invention has reference to regulators as a lever detentand racl prevents the especially adapted to electric cars; and it switchaccidentally standing at intermediate IO consists of certainimprovements, all of which positions where the resistance would be rearefully set forth in the following specificaduced and danger of burningout exists. tion, and shown in the accompanying draw- Aside from thesefeatures, a spring or snap lugs, which form a part. thereof. lock maybeemployed to insure the regulator In the operation of cars byelectricityit has moving precisely from one position to the 15 been customary toarrange upon one or both next, and so that it will not step out ofproper ends of the car a regulator, so that the eurposition for anyparticular coupling up of cirrent flowing to the motor or motors may becuits or changes of resistance, and thereby regulated and the carcontrolled from either conndensate for any loose play in the connecend,and whereby it may be run and contions with the operating-lever.

2o trolled in either direction. These regulators It is evident that thisimprovement maybe or switches are more or less expensive, and it usedfor controlling motors which are not on is desirable to make one sufficeto each car. cars or movable vehicles, and that the details Our presentinvention comprehends such a may be modified in numerous ways withoutregulator arranged upon the under part of departing from ourinvention.

25 the car, or elsewhere, with connecting mech- The construction ofregulator we prefer is anism extending to each end or platform of whatis known as a barrel-switch, in which the car, and detachably supportedat either a cylindrical contact maker or breaker is reend of the car isan operating lover or handle tated on a longitudinal axis, such as setout which when shifted from one end to the other in G. Herbert Ctmdictsapplication, Serial N0.

0 in reversing the travel of the carisautomatt 271,882, of April 26,1888; but it is evident cally connected with the connecting mechthat theregulator may be made in a variety 8o anism for operating the regulator.By this of ways, according as to its duty. means the same handle may beshifted to In the drawings, Figure 1 is a plan view of either end,leaving the rear platform of the a car-body with our improvementsattached 3 5 car free and unobstructed, and used to operthereto. Fig. 2is a longitudinal sectional ate the regulator from the end which is tobe elevation of same on line 1 y. Fig. 3 is an the front for thedirection of travel of the car. end elevation of the regulatorand with aper- In this way the rear or passenger platform tion of the cap brokenaway. Fig. l is a side becomes unobstructed, and there is nothingelevationoftheregulatorwithportionsbroken 0 within reach which mightaccidentally be away. Fig. 5 is a cross-section of Fi 2 on shifted tointerfere with the proper operation line .11 a, and Fig. (i is aperspective view of 0 of the regulator from the other end. The one ofthe socket-plates. handle or lever for operating the regulatorin Arepresents the car-body, and I l are its producing a given movement ofthe said regtwo end platforms.

45 ulator is moved in opposite directions at each 0 0 represent twoelectric motors adapted end to suit the changed position of the opertopropel the said car, and may be connected ator, and so that pulling thelever toward the to the axles in any suitable manner, as is welloperator at either end will perform the same known in. this art. work,and vice versa. D is a regulator or switch for controlling the speed andpower of the motors, and, as shown, controls the amount of currentpassing from the battery E, which may be of the secondary type. Thecurrent is fed from the battery to the regulator by wires 6 and from theregulator to the motors by the circuits 0.

The regulator D is preferably secured to the under part of the car-body,as shown in Fig. 2, and may have a door, 1), whereby its interior may beexposed for examination and repai r. The barrel of this. regulator orswitch is provided on its ends with pinions (2, contained withindust-caps G. \Vorking in connection with these pinions are racks H, oneof which is arranged below one pinion and the other of which is arrangedupon the other pinion, so that pulling either one of the racks towardits respective platform will cause the barrel of the regulator torevolve in the same direction, for reasons hereinafter explained. Theracks II have indentations or notches 7L, into which a pin, 1, ispressed by means of a spring, 1'. There are as many notches 71 as thereare diiferent positions of the barrel for coupling up the motors indifferent ways-that is to say, in series or parallel or combinations ofthese. The function of the pin I is to insure the barrel being stoppedat the right position. These racks H are connected with slides K undertheir respective platforms by means of rods J, and these slides K areguided upon guide-rods L, so as to move longitudinally on the car. Aspring, M, acts upon one of the rods J and presses upon a stop, or, soas normally to return the barrel of the regulator to its off position,or that in which no current is flowing.

Arranged immediately above the slides K are socket-plates F in theplatforms B B, which socket-plates have two sockets, f, for receivingthe frame-work of the operatinglever.

P is the lever-frame, and has two feet, P, at the bottom and the rack pat the top, and pivoted to this frame is the operating-lever 0, havingthe detent o, and with its lower end extended through the socket-plate Fand into a suitable hole, 7c, in the slide K. The frame P and theoperating-lever are removable from the socket-plate on one platform andadapted to be inserted in the socket-plate on the other platform, so asto enable the car to be operated from either end and to enable theentire removal of all obstruct-ion from the rear or passenger platform.

It is evident that by operating the lever O in the same direction withrespect to the movement of the carat either end thereof the exact sameregulation will take place, and if from any cause the detent 0 is notbrought home in its notch the spring M will instantly return theregulator to its next position in the direction toward cutting off thecurrent. In this way it is impossible for the switch ,device to standbetween two different connecing the battery or other source of current.

It is to be understood thatI do not limit myself to any particulardetail of construction of the regulator or its connections, nor to theparts P and O,as they may be modified and varied without departing fromthe principles of the invention. The lever O and its detent and rackmechanism should be such that each notch of the rack p corresponds to adifferent position of the switch-barrel of the regulator to supply adifferent current to the motors, and the ratchet-teeth p are made sothat the detent may snap back and catch on the tooth next in front.

Of course it will be understood that the particular source of electriccurrent is immaterial, as it may be overhead, underground, or surfaceconductors in place of the secondary or primary battery shown, all ofthese means of electric supply being well known.

Having n ow described our invention, what we claim as new, an d desireto secure by Letters Patent, is

1. The combination of a car having a platform, an electric motor topropel the car, a current-regulator to control the current passing tothe motor arranged under the body of the car, a positive mechanicaldevice for operating said regulator and extending to the platform, an dan operating-lever and fulcrum detachably supported by said platform andhaving a positive detachable connection with the regulatoroperat-ingdevice, whereby the operating-lever may be readily removed withoutdisturbing the other parts.

2. The combination of a car having a plat. form, an electric motor topropel the car, a current-regulator to control the current passing tothe motor arranged under the body of the car, a positive mechanicaldevice for operating said regulator and extending to the platform, anoperating-lever detachably supported by said platform having a positivedctachable connection with the regulator-operating device, whereby theoperatin g-lcver may be readily removed without disturbing the o herparts, and a spring independent of the lever to normally move theregulator to reduce or cut off the current.

3. The combination of a car having a platform, an electric motor topropel the car, a current-regulator to control the current passing tothe motor arranged under the body of the car, a positive mechanicaldevice for operating said regulator and extending to the platform, anoperating-lever rack and detent detachably supported by said platformhaving a positive detachable connection with the regulator-operatingdevice, whereby the operating-lever may be readily removed withoutdisturbing the other parts, and a spring independent of the lever to noanally move the regulator to reduce or cut off the current.

4;. The combination of acar, an electric motor to propel said car, arotary current-regulator under the car having a transverse axis, and asliding mechanical mechanism extending to the front of the car andconnecting with said regulator rotate it.

5. The combination of a car, an electric motor to propel said car, arotary-barrel current-regulator under the car, a mechanical mechanismextending to the front of the ear to rotate said regulator, and a springto oppose the rotation of the barrel in one direction and rotate thebarrel in the opposite direction to reduce or shut off the current.

(3. The combination of a car, an electric motor to propel said car, arotary-barrel currentregulator under the car, a mechanical mechanismextending to the front of the car to retate said regulator, a spring tooppose the retation of the barrel in one direction and rotate the barrelin the opposite direction to reduce or shut off the current, and alocking device to lock the barrel in two or more positions of rotation.

7, The combination, in an electrically-propolled car, of a regulator forthe current flowing to the motor, a detachable hand-lever mechanismdetachably supported upon the car-platform to move itin one direction,and a spring to move it in the opposite direction to reduce or cut offthe current.

8. The combination of a regulator for the current flowing over anelectric circuit, a detachable hand-lever mechanism to move it in onedirection, aconneetion between the handlever and regulator, a springacting on the connection and independent of the lever to move it in theopposite direction to operate the regulator to reduce or cut off thecurrent, and a locking device to lock the lever of the regulator in twoor more positions to vary the current passing to the circuit.

9. The combination of a car having a platform, an electric motor topropel the car, a current-regulator to control the current passing tothe motor arranged under the body of the car, a positive mechanicaldevice for operating said regulator and extending to the platform, anoperating-lever detachably supported by said platform having a positivedetachable connection with the regulator-operating device, whereby theoperating-lever may be readily removed without disturbing the otherparts, and a snap-lock between the movable part of the regulator and theframe supporting it to insure the movable part stopping positively atfixed places.

10. The combination of a car, an electric motor to propel said car, arotary-barrel c.urrent-regulator under the car, a mechanical mechanismextending to the front of the car to rotate said regulator, a series ofdepressions in the regulator-barrel-operating mechanism, and aspring-lock to snap into said depressions to hold the barrel in givenpositions.

11. The combination of a car, an electric motor to propel said car, arotary-barrel current-regulator under the car, a mechanical by a rackand pinion to mechanism extending to the front of the car to rotate saidregulator, a spring to oppose the rotation of the barrel in onedirection and retate the barrel in the opposite direction to reduce orshut off the current, a locking device to lock the barrel in two or morepositions of rotation, a series of depressions in the regula-tor barreloperating mechanism, and a spring-lock to snap into said depressions tohold the barrel in given positions.

12. The combination of a barrel regulator or switch, a spur-wheelsecured to the rotating barrel, a sliding rack meshing with saidspur-wheel and moving transversely to the barrel, and a lever to movesaid rack.

13. The combination of a barrel. regulator or switch, a spur-wheelsecured to the rotating ba-rrel,a sliding rack meshing with saidspur-wheel and moving transversely to the barrel, a lever to move saidrack, and a locking device to hold said rack and barrel in two or morepositions.

14. The combination of a car having a platform at each end, an electricmotor to propel the car, a regulator located under the car, a positivemechanical mechanism to operate the regulator extending to and beloweach platform of the car, and a detachable operatinghandle movable to orfrom each platform extending from above to below the platform anddetaehably but positively eonneetible with the mechanism for operatingthe regulator at either end of the car.

15. The combination of a car havingaplatform at each end, aeurrent-regulator for the motor arranged on the car, a rod extendingfrom said regulator to each end of the ear to a point below theplatforms, an operating-dd ver-frame support arranged upon eachplatform, a lever-support detaehably conncctible to either platform, andan operating-lever carried by the frame and detachably connected withthe rod over which it is placed.

16. The combination of a ct having a plat form at each end, acurrentilator for the motor arranged on the car, a. in extending fromsaid regulator to each end of the car to a point below the platforms, anoperating lever-frame support arranged upon each platform, alever-support for detachable connection to either platform, anoperating-lever carried by the frame and detachably connected with therod over which it is placed, and a spring acting upon said regulator tocause it to move in opposition to onemoven ient of the lever to move theregulator to reduce or cutoff the current to the motor.

In testimony of which invention we hereunto set our hands.

G. HERBERT (ONUIU VICTOR ANGERER.

Witnesses:

RICHD. Asi-inonsr, IERNEs'r llomxnn llUN'lEl-t.

